Congress Acts Against Gender-based Violence

Violence against women and girls is a massive problem in the world today; as UNIFEM states, it's "one of the most widespread violations of human rights." Around the world, as many as six in ten women are exposed to physical and/or sexual violence sometime in their lives. Domestic violence is a perpetual concern around the world, rape is all too often used as a weapon in situations of war, and global trafficking in women and girls is an ever-worsening crisis.

On Thursday, the US Congress spoke out on this vitally important issue by passing the bipartisan International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) in both Houses. The I-VAWA will support initiatives aimed at preventing violence against women, supporting health care and survivor assistance, transforming public attitudes and legal protections and increasing women's economic and educational opportunities. The act was sponsored in the Senate by 25 senators including John Kerry (D-MA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and by several representatives in the House led by Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Ted Poe (R-TX) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).

"We look forward to continuing our work with Congress and the international community to chart a new era of international cooperation to address violence against women, to create partnerships among governments, multilateral institutions, the private sector, civil society, and individuals," the Department of State announced in a statement.

A whole lot of other people all over the world are surely looking forward to that too.

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